Obsessed With Covers #30: City Of Light, Roadside Magic

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

Hey guys! Happy Monday! Sorry I went missing last week, but I had some stuff going on. This week I'm bringing you Urban Fantasy covers.

The beauty of this cover stands in its simplicity. The POV used is rather interesting, making it look like the dark night sky is the focus. There's what looks like either a bridge or the deck of a yacht/ship in the lowest part of the cover. Whatever it is, it seems like it's full of water. What hits me about this cover is that despite the title, that city has no lights that I can see. So I'm really curious about that, about the discrepancies between the title and the city shown in the cover. I love the font used for the title, I've always had a thing for neon signs. I also like that the letters "bleed" light around them. I'm actually very excited about this book, because this looks like an interesting read. 

City of Light - Keri Arthur 

This cover makes me think of Ghost Rider. That and the bike are what first got my attention and made me love this cover. Because bikes are awesome! I also love the sleeve tattoos the cover model has. That's a very interesting pattern and I'm very intrigued by it. I wonder if the tattoos have a story. I also like that it seems as if his powers are coming from the tattoos. I am curious about who he's chasing, because he looks ready to go to war, dangerous, angry and very, very concentrated. I have a feeling that being on his bad side is not a good place to find yourself in.

Roadside Magic - Lilith Saintcrow

Confessions of a Weird Reader #6: To All The Reads I Put On Hold

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I want to talk to you about a special kind of books, the ones I decide to put down for a little while.

As you probably already know, I have no issue DNFing a book. If I don't enjoy it, I don't finish it. Seems reasonable, right? But what happens with those tough-to-read books? Those are really painful to DNF, mostly because I really don't want to. The decision to put them aside for a little while isn't easy for me. Which is why this blog post is dedicated to them, to the books that I just had to put on hold for a while in 2015. Here we go!

Things I Want My Daughters To Know - Elizabeth Noble

How much I read: 22%

Why I put it on hold: It's not you, it's me. You had the misfortune of being picked up right after I finished reading Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon, a book with an equally sad topic. I thought I could read you right away. I was wrong.

Will I finish it: Definitely. The story is sad, but also inspiring. It also shows how different people react in very different ways to the same situation, even if those people are siblings. It's a great story and I do plan to finish it.

The Dream of the Child Who Walks On Snow Without Leaving Traces - Gabriel Chifu

How much I read: 56%

Why I put it on hold: The subject is a difficult one to read about. It's about the communist regime in the 70s in Romania and the saddest part about this book is that most of this stuff (if not all of it) actually happened. To real people, in real life. It's not just some what-if situation, it's a real life story at the end of the day. It's hard to get through without wanting to scream. Or cry. Or both.

Will I finish it: Yes. I do. I will. Maybe that could be January's resolution!

The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry - Marc Levy

How much I read: About 50%

Why I put it on hold: It was you. Well, kind of. Mostly me. See, I'm used to Marc Levy writing great stories, stories that don't always make sense right away. Stories that aren't always light and funny. I picked up this book, feeling hopeful. I also had super high expectations. It is possible that those expectations were way too high. Maybe I wasn't paying attention, maybe it's my fault.

Will I finish it: I think so, I'm not sure. That's the sad part, because I do want to know how the story ends, what they find on their journey.





Let's talk. Did you put aside any books last year? Or this year? Why?

Comic Book Tuesday #5: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War

Author: Mike Johnson, Angel Hernandez
Series: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #1-6
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 29th 2016
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Two iconic franchises collide for this blockbuster crossover event! The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise meets the Green Lantern Corps for the first time in an all-new adventure that spans the cosmos! Kirk and Spock make a most unusual discovery on a lost world... igniting events that will change the fate of empires!

*Disclaimer: I received an e-galley of this book from Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review.

When I was growing up I was a huge Star Trek fan. So it's no wonder that when I saw this book on Netgalley I just HAD to read it. Also, I like when two apparently different fictional worlds have a crossover, because it's a great opportunity to introduce people to new characters and get them interested enough to find out more about them.

The first thing I noticed was that, unlike most comic books that I've read so far, this one seemed easier to read and the story was a bit easier to follow. This might be due to how the panels were created. Not too many characters were present in the panels and I really enjoyed that fact. Although that doesn't mean there was a lack of details. On the contrary, the drawings were fabulous, the colors were extremely rich and vivid and they helped add a little extra layers to the story.

Because I've only seen the Green Lantern movie (and that was a while ago), I was surprised to hear that there were more Lanterns out there. Of course, it makes sense now, but at the time I was reading it, I was surprised. I enjoyed seeing new Lanterns being chosen. As a newbie to the Green Lantern world, I feel like my confusion was pretty much reflected by the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise ship and their reaction to the flying green man they meet in space during a fight. I did love the fact that most of my questions were answered, although it also made me curious about the Green Lantern comics and the entire history of this world.

I have to say that the ending felt a bit rushed, but the story did have only 6 issues, so I probably shouldn't have been that surprised by that fact. I greatly enjoyed reading about these two world together and I am actually hoping there's going to be more crossovers between the two franchises. I am curious if this will have any impact on future movies or if there's a plan for a Star Trek/Green Lantern movie crossover? That would be interesting to see. All in all, I greatly enjoyed this book and I will add the Green Lantern comic books to my TBR.

Obsessed With Covers #29: The Raven Cycle, Riders, Stars Above

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

Happy Monday guys! I have pretties for you!

The Raven Cycle is a series that has some of the prettiest covers out there, but the one for this upcoming novel is my favorite. The first thing that I noticed is the stag. Since I haven't yet read this series (I only stared at the pretty covers), I'm not really sure what to make of this cover. Is it that the stag has a light shining on it or is that blue shade on it a symbol for what's happening in the book? Is it fog that conceals the ravens and the stag's antlers or something else? This cover is really making me insanely curious about the series.







The Raven King - Maggie Stiefvater

I've been staring at this cover for a while now and every time I see it I think about the same thing. I don't know if you guys saw The Last Unicorn, but this cover reminds me of that movie a lot. I love the image used and I really want to know if the horse is on fire or if the horse has an armor of fire. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that the next books in this series will be similar to this one. Obviously, reading the blurb makes it seem that the horse belongs to one of the Four Horsemen, but that tagline makes me wonder. Anyway, I love horses, so this cover needs to prettify my shelves :D

Riders - Veronica Rossi

Another series with fantastic covers. And Stars Above doesn't fail. This cover is more than gorgeous. I love the crown and I love the image of the lightning coming out of it. It also makes me think about plasma globes and I love those too. The crown is also very pretty. It seems like it's make of crystal (or glass). It's an easy cover to love, really. I wonder if the crown belongs to someone and if the stories in this book reveal that someone. I haven't kept up with the series, to my shame, so if that was revealed in the previous books, I'm sorry :P






Stars Above - Marissa Meyer

Book Review: Shadows by Paula Weston

Author: Paula Weston
Series: The Rephaim #1
Publisher: Orion Children's
Release Date: January 3rd 2013
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

*Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Hachette Children's Group in exchange for an honest review.

Shadows was one of those books that everyone around me seemed to read and enjoy, so I will admit that I was a bit nervous when I decided to read this book. I am glad I did it though, because I ended up liking it a lot.

Gaby is one of those characters that is full of surprises. I felt very sad for her and for her twin brother. She is a loyal friend and I liked how she was willing to do anything to protect her best friend. What was interesting about her character is how the author managed to make Gaby seem different than the person that Rafa and his friends tell her she was in the past. It was almost like reading about two different characters and that was something that I enjoyed a lot.

Rafa is a difficult character to like. Actually, half the time I wanted to smack him, while the other half I wanted to hug him, because his side of the story was sad too. At times he was infuriating, other times he was a charmer. He is loyal though and I really do want to know more about him and his story.

The plot was pretty well paced, not too fast and not too slow. There were a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming, a few scenes that I did anticipate but that I enjoyed. There was a very powerful scene near the end, a scene that really made me question what is actually going on. It kind of made me question a lot of the things that Rafa knew and that were presented by different characters throughout the book. But I also loved that it showed that the Rephaim were a true family in the end, and that even though they might not agree with each other or even fight each other, they would stand united against enemies. I really loved that scene.

I liked how the book ended. It seemed fast and it came out of nowhere to be honest, but that just made me even more curious about the rest of the story. I will definitely read the rest of the series.

Wednesday Chatter #12: The Struggle To Write A Decent First Paragraph

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday!

Last week I was trying really hard to get some book reviews done and I noticed something. I always have a problem starting the review in a semi-intelligent way. You know, something other than "OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD" or something similar. The funny thing, though, is that not all reviews are so difficult to write, for me. Oh no, my issue is with books I've received for reviewing. This struggle led to this discussion post and I really hope I'm not the only one that has this issue.

See, here's the thing. I've always felt the pressure of a perfect beginning when reviewing books that I'm supposed to review. This probably has to do with the fact that, in school, I was told that all essays should have a strong, good beginning. That a good start will always make the readers enjoy the entire article more than they would if the first paragraph is mediocre or bad. Is it true? I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. I don't judge an article by how it starts, unless the first paragraph is full of typing errors that are really "in-your-face". But for me there's this huge pressure to sound intelligent and somewhat professional. Like I know what I'm doing. Which, spoiler alert, isn't always the case.

For some reason this pressure, this strange idea of mine regarding reviews and the first paragraph, only comes to me to kick me in the butt when I'm writing reviews for books I've received for review.

Do you guys have that issue? I know I need to loosen up a bit, I'm not denying that. But am I the only one really struggling with this? Also, do you have any tips?